


Actions Speak Louder

by whimsical_ramblings



Series: Language Barrier [1]
Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Language Barrier, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-30
Updated: 2015-07-30
Packaged: 2018-04-12 02:58:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4462904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whimsical_ramblings/pseuds/whimsical_ramblings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on the idea that Vegeta can't speak the language that's spoken on Earth, and Bulma becomes his personal, and unwanted, tutor while he's staying at Capsule Corp.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Actions Speak Louder

**Author's Note:**

> This series will mostly include little drabbles as they come to me of what kind of shenanigans would ensue if it was even harder to communicate with Vegeta than it already is in canon.

“Vegeta!” Bulma called out as she powered down the gravity room and poked her head inside. The man turned and glared at her with a ferocity she’d since grown used to by now, and he muttered something angrily that she couldn’t understand.

“Come on, we’re never gonna get you to the point where you can communicate in more than just scowls if you spend all day in here,” she said from the doorway.

Vegeta just stared at her blankly, and Bulma sighed.

“Come here,” she said again, slower this time, and waved him over. Recognition flashed in his eyes at the gesture, but he still made no move to leave the room.

“I know you understood that,” Bulma said. “And I know Piccolo told you that you could only stay here if you agreed to try to learn our language, I made sure of that much.”

Piccolo’s name was one word Vegeta definitely understood, and it set him immediately on edge. He ground something out in Saiyin again, Bulma catching the word “namekian” and little else, but she knew whatever he was saying probably wasn’t complementary. Piccolo was the only one of them who spoke even basic Saiyin, but after garnering what information he could from Vegeta (at Bulma and Goku’s request), and translating for them in return, the two of them hadn’t been seen within ten miles of each other. There was no love lost between them, that was for sure.

“Let’s go, Vegeta!” she yelled, placing her hands on her hips. “Don’t make me lock you out of the gravity room.”

After a moment’s more hesitation, Vegeta finally relented, although she couldn’t tell if it was because he’d actually understood her threat, or if it was because he just wanted to shut her up. Maybe both.

She led them to one of the patio tables that stood under the shade of an awning and sat down, gesturing for Vegeta to do the same. He complied, although he didn’t look happy about it.

“Okay,” Bulma said, scooting her chair closer to him. “This is gonna be pretty difficult since you  have no clue what I’m saying.”

Vegeta just gave her another blank stare, looking impatient.

  
“Right…,” she said. “Let’s start simple, I guess.” Bulma turned in her chair slightly. “Do you know ‘yes’ and ‘no’ yet?”

She received no answer, which she took as a no.

“Yes,” she said, nodding her head. “Do you understand?”

Vegeta’s scowl deepened when he realized she wanted him to actively participate in this lesson of hers, and he crossed his arms over his chest, looking for all the world like a large, pouty child.

“Yes,” she repeated. “Say it.”

Again, she got no response. She leaned in closer. “Say. It.”

She gestured to her mouth as she spoke the words, hoping he understood what she wanted from him.

“Yes,” she said once more, nodding her head. “Say it.”

“Y..Yes.”

Bulma clapped her hands and smiled. “Yes! Good! Okay, now say ‘no’.”

Vegeta didn’t answer this time, and Bulma felt her patience slipping.

“You don’t have to make this so difficult, you know!” she said. “I’m just trying to help you. Don’t you wanna learn how to speak with all of us?”

“No,” Vegeta muttered.

“Well too bad, you’re gonna learn whether you like it or not,” she said. “And since you definitely seem to have the word ‘no’ down, already, we can move on to something else.”

Bulma straightened in her chair and put her hands on her shoulders. “Woman,” she said, then leaned forward and put her hands on Vegeta’s bare shoulders. He hadn’t bothered to throw a shirt on when they left the gravity room, and he nearly jumped out of his seat when Bulma’s skin touched his.

“Man,” she said anyway before removing her hands. He visibly relaxed afterwards, the tension dropping from his shoulders.  _I guess touching is a no-go_ , she thought.

“M…,” Vegeta started to say, struggling to move his mouth around the word.

“Man,” Bulma repeated for him.

“M…man.”

“Yep!” she said, happy to have him cooperating again. “Geez, you catch on quick, you know that? If you’d actually try a little bit this would actually go pretty fast.”

She pointed to herself again, demonstrating that she wanted him to say ‘woman’ next. The word was a bit harder for him to pronounce, and he flubbed the first few tries, growing angrier and angrier at each failure before finally getting it right.

“Woman,” he said.

Bulma pointed at him. “Man,” she said, then pointed back to him. “Woman.”

“Woman,” Vegeta said again, then smirked. “No woman,” he said, then pointed back to the gravity room. “Yes.”

“We’ve barely done anything, you can’t just leave!” Bulma said. “And my name isn’t woman, it’s Bulma.  _Bulma_.”

“Hm?” Vegeta said, pretending as though he couldn’t understand her. “Woman?”

“You’re doing that on purpose!”

“No,” Vegeta said.

“Yes you are!”

When he laughed at her, Bulma paused. She’d never heard him laugh before, and under different circumstances she might have tried to get him to laugh again, but the fact that he was laughing at her just made her more furious.

“You know what? Fine. Do whatever you want. But don’t come crying to me when you can’t even feed yourself because you wouldn’t learn more than four words, you jerk!”

She pulled herself to her feet and stalked off towards the house, shooting Vegeta a quick glare before slamming the door behind her. 


End file.
